Textile drying apparatus



Feb. 2, 1943. G. T. KlNG, SR

TEXTILE DRYING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 22, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 2, 1943. 5. T. KING, SR 2,309,961

TEXTILE DRYING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 22, 1941 3 Sheets-Shee t 2 K W w 61% m mm m w T m E 6 G on w G nmu 3 a 7 m q 7 mm. r "W r "mm n w T n n u w n m w m w .llml m J2 m m mi; n w M I! 1943. G. T. KING, SR

TEXT ILE DRYING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 22, 1941 3 Shee ts-Sheet 3 GEORGE 7: KINQSR,

Snventor C(ttorneg 5 Patented Feb. 2, 1943 TEXTILE DRYING APPARATUS George T King, Sr., Lancaster, S. 0.; Walter C. King administrator of said George Thomas King, Sr., deceased Application September 22, 1941, Serial No. 411,862'

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for drying yarns and fabrics on revolvingcylinders such as employed in yarn slashers, sizing machines, cloth drying machines and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus wherein the moisture content of the yarn and fabrics may be either manually or automatically controlled by subjecting the same to high velocity warm air currents.

In the early days of cotton yarn slashing or drying, the method of obtaining a satisfactory dried warp depended one hundred per cent on the humman element, that is the human sense of feel. If, in the operation of a slasher, the operator believed by his sense of feel that the warp was too dry, he speeded up the slasher by hand, and if it was too wet, he slowed the slasher down.

It is common practice today in slasher drying ventional practice to get effective change in drying to change the speed of the cylinders. When a response comes from the moisture detector indicating that the yarn is too dry, the conventional controls attempt to speed up the cylinders of the, slasher. After making a number of attempts to speed it up, the rate of rotation of the cylinders will be too great, then the reverse cycle will begin. Thus it is seen that there is a serious delay of response of any adjusting of speed on the yarn drying machine where this large storage of heat is involved.

Another factor which has proved to be a serious handicap to the control of the drying by varying the speed of the cylinders, has been the weight of the rotating parts. The inertia of the cylinders is too great to respond instantly. to the action of themoisture detector, without expensive braking and starting mechanism, and consequently the yarn will be improperly dried while this response is being effected.

The medium used in controlling the moisture content in yarns or fabrics while being dried, therefore, must be such that it will respond immediately upon any change in this moisture content.

It is a well known fact that the higher the velocity of air, passing over a given area of heating surface, the'greater will be the transfer of heat units; consequently, when a heated rotating cylinder together with a counterfiowing current of air are employed for drying yarn, the transfer of heat units from the cylinder will be in direct proportion to the velocity of the air currents. In other words, the yarn which passes around the cylinder will be dried quickly or slowly, depending upon the rate of transfer of the heat units from the cylinder.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus adapted to control the drying of material such as yarn cloth and the like by directing air currents thereover according to the moisture content of material being dried. The material is passed over an encased internally heated rotating cylinder, during which time currents of air are directed over the encased cylinder and the material being dried at a rate determined by the moisture content of the material being dried when it emerges from the encasement} This invention contemplates a cylinder rotating at a constant rate and air currents flowing at variable rates.

The moisture content of the emerging yarn may be constantly ascertained by several well known methods. In the present disclosure, mechanism is disclosed whereby the moisture content of the yarn as it emerges from the slasher will automatically control the flow of air over the cylinder; however, it is believed that the disclosure involves invention, even if the automatic feature is not employed.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a yarn slasher showing certain portions thereof in section and illustrating my improved yarn drying apparatus;

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken-along the line 33 in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detailed view taken along the line 44 in Figure 1, illustrating the joint construction between the stationary slasher drum and the stationary air duct which encircles the same;

the moisture detecting device in connection with a warp and an electrical ground roll.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l denotes a conventional size box for textile warps and the like, said box having a supply of size solution ll therein in which rolls i4, i and ii are adapted to rotate. The size box l0 supports a guide roll I! over which a warp or other textile material I8 is adapted to pass. This warp passes downwardly from the upper portion of roll ll, beneath roller l4 and then upwardly and horizontally over the tops of rolls l5 and IS. The rolls l5 and I3 have squeeze rolls 29 and 2| respectively resting thereupon which serve to extract the excess size solution from the yarn after the same has been immersed by the bath H. The rolls 20 and 2| are held in position over their respective bottom rolls l5 and it by means of suitable spaced uprights 24, extending upwardly from the edge of the size box l0. These uprights are placed just far enough apart to form suitable slots 25 into which the restricted ends of the squeeze rollers 20 and 2| may have free vertical movement.

After leaving the size box ID, the warp l8 passes upwardly at an incline over another guide roll 26, said guide roll having its ends rotatably mounted in a slasher framework broadly designated by the reference character 21. From the roller 26, the warp l8 continues to pass upwardly at an incline and onto a conventional slasher cylinder or drum 29 and this cylinder has its ends rotatably mounted as at 30 in upright bearing brackets 3|. These bearing brackets 3| rest upon the slasher framework 21 previously described. The warp or other textile material l8 contacts substantially three quarters of the periphery of drum 29.

" The material it! passes from drum 29 upwardly over the top side of a smaller drum 33, which drum is rotatably mounted as at 34 upon a bracket 35. Bracket 35 is supported by the framework 21. Both of the drums 29 and 33 are of a conventional make and are heated usually by the admission of steam or other heating agent on the interior thereof. Suitable conventional vacuum means (not shown) are employed for removing the condensed steam from the cylinders. It will also be noted that the smaller drum 33 is located between the size box I0 and the larger drum 29 so that the yarn l8 passes above the smaller drum while passing from size box III to larger drum 29.

The material i8 contacts about three fourths of the periphery of the smaller drum 33 and moves therefrom in a tangential direction substantially at the lowermost point of the drum. After leaving the drum 33 the yarn or material l8 passes in a substantially horizontal direction beneath a guide roll 3'! thence upwardly over another guide roll 38, then horizontally over a metallic roll 39, then beneath a larger roll 40, then upwardly over a roll 4|, from whence it passes onto a take-up warp beam 43.

Air duct system jor portion of duct 45 is disposed in parallel spaced relation to the periphery of the drum. This duct converges toward the periphery of the drum as at 41, thereby forming a restricted v where it is seen that a suitable flexible piece of periphery of the smaller drum (Figure 3).

material 48, such as rubber, asbestos or the like, is secured to the inwardly turned side flanges or walls 49 of duct 45. A metallic bar 50 is secured to the exterior face of each flexible member 48, said bars and flexible members being secured to flanges 49 by any suitable means such as screws 5|.

It will be seen by observing Figures 1 and 5, that a window 54 is provided approximately midway the ends of the duct 45 and substantially at the same elevation as the axis of rotation of drum 29. This window is provided for inspection of the yarn or material passing therethrough, after it has entered the duct and while it is passing over the periphery of the drum.

The upper portion of the duct 45 has a vertically disposed suction pipe 55 leading therefrom, said pipe leading into'a large horizontally disp sed duct 56 as at 51.

The construction of the duct which encircles a portion of the smaller drum 33 is similar to the construction of duct 29 previously described. The duct this encircles the smaller drum 33 is designated by reference character 60, saidduct having inturned sidewalls or flanges 6| disposed adjacent each end or head of the drum, said flanges terminating a short distance from the In order to provide substantially air tight joints between the stationary walls SI and the heads of rotating drums 33, suitable arcuate flexible members 62 are provided, said members being secured to the outer faces of inturned walls 6| by means of suitable bars 63 and screws 54. The inner faces of the flexible members rest against the heads of the drum in the manner shown in Figures 3 and 4. In other words, the connection between'the duct 60 and the drum' 33 is substantially the same as the connection between duct 45 and drum 29.

The uppermost portion of the duct 60 is disposed in a more remote position from the periphery of drum 33 than the lowermost portion. This uppermost portion, of course has to be fabricated to fit into the crotch between the larger and smaller drums and therefore it is substantially Vshaped in longitudinal section at this point. The lowermost portion, however, is disposed in parallel spaced relation to the drum 33 and extends to point 55 at the bottom of the drum where the material l8 passes from the drum and when the air enters duct 60. Disposed in the upper V- shaped portion of the duct 60, is a horizontal pipe 61, said pipe extending transversely of the duct to a point near one of the sidewalls 6| (Figure 3). The other end of the pipe 61 is secured to the interior of a larger pipe 68, this larger pipe leading from the other of the side walls SI of the duct and having the upper end thereof communicating with duct 56. The pipe 61 is held in the central portion of the pipe 68 by means of suitable spiders 10. The pipe 88 extends horizontally into the V- shaped portion of duct 69 a short distance, whereas the smaller pipe extends much farther into this V-shaped compartment. The purpose of providing this arrangement is to equalize the suction effect throughout this compartment and throughout the duct.

In Figure 1, it will be seen that the extreme right hand end of the duct or pipe 58 communicates with a hood 15, said hood being disposed over the size box I8 and serving to collect the I88, and material I 8. Since a wet yarn or textile material is a better conductor of electricity than a dry yarn or material, it is thus seen that the wetter the yarn the greater will be the flow of steam and other vapor which rises from the box.

The left-hand end of the duct 56 (Figure 1) has a conventional suction fan 11 secured thereto. which fan produces the necessary suction draft for collecting the vapor from me size box I8 and also for creating a suction draft of air in the ducts 45 and 68 to dry material I8.

Since each of the ducts 45 and 68 encircle that portion of their respective drums where the material contacts the same, a suction draft of air will cooperate with the heated drums to more quickly dry the material. Also it will be noted that the direction of travelof the material is opposite to the direction of travel of air, thereby creating a counterfiow which greatly increases the drying effect;

Automatic control As heretofore stated, this system lends itself most admirably to automatic control, although the invention is not limited to this feature. When the operator has ascertained the amount of yarn or material which is to be dried within a given time, he sets the machine so that the drums of the drying mechanism will rotate at this particular speed, which in turn, will cause a given amount of material to pass over the drums within a given time. This amount of drying or evaporation effected upon the yarn is thereafter controlled by varying the velocity of air currents over the drum during rotation. In order to effectively produce this variable flow of air over the drums. a suitable damper 88 is provided in the duct 55.- This damper has pivotally secured to each vane thereof as at 8|, a vertically disposed bar 82.

,This bar extends downwardly to the exterior of duct 56 and has pivotally secured to the lower end thereof a link 83. Link 83 is also pivoted to one end of a lever 84 which lever is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 85 to a bracket 88. The other endof the lever 84 has pivoted thereto, one end of a solenoid core 81 which slidably penetrates a solenoid coil 88. The coil 88 is' pivotally mounted as at 88 to a bracket 88.;

The necessary current for energizing the coil 88 is supplied by a suitable wire85 which leads -to one side of the coil from a suitable source of power, not shown. From the other side of the coil, a wire 86 leads to a resistance coil 81 and from this resistance coil another wire 88 leads to a brush 89 (Figure 6). Brush 88 contacts the periphery of a suitable detector roller I88 on circumference I8I.' The diameter of the roller at the circumference I8I is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the main portion of the roller. The roller I 88 is rotatably mounted in aframe I82 and is insulated therefrom by means of an insulation bearing I83. One end of the frame I82 is pivoted as at I84 to a graphic recording control mechanism I85, said mechanism being supported current through the coil 88, and consequently the greater will be the amount of actuation of the solenoid core 81.

Of course, any movement of the core 81 will effect a corresponding movement of the damper 88. For example, if the yarn I8 is too wet, then it will be necessary to open the damper 88 so that a greater amount of air will be drawn from the ducts 45 and 68 to more completely dry the yarn. On the contrary, if the yarn I8 is too dry, the current will not fiow so readily from the roll I88 through this yarn and to the ground roll 38. As a result, the coil 88 willnot be energized as much, and therefore, tension spring I81 will serve to more completely close the damper 88. It is therefore seen that an automatic control is provided whereby any slight change in the moisture content of the yarn will actuate the solenoid core 88 and the damper 88 to correct this condition.

' As an additional means for keeping track of the condition of the yarn or material during operations over a. certain period of time, a suitable moisture recording instrument H8 is provided. This is a conventional instrument, which in many instances, graphically records the moisture content of the yarn over a given period and thereby permits the operator at a glance to tell the condition of the yarn at any particular time. This graphic control is connected to the control mechanism I84 by a suitable wire I II in a conventional manner.

If desired, the automatic feature comprising elements 83 to 98 inclusive may be eliminated and th damper 88 manuallyoperated. In such a case, it will be necessary for the operator to first ascertain from instrument II8 the condition of the yarn, and then manually regulate the damper accordingly.

This method of high velocity air, when ducts are used around the cylinders, has been found from actual operation to increase production as high as fifty percent over conventional methods employing open hoods. The provision of a suction fan and damper for regulating air currents by a transverse rod I85 which in turn is supported 7 This r011 38 serves as an electrical ground for the current which passes through wire 85, coil 88, wire 86, resistance 81, wire 88, brush 88, detector roll over the cylinders and yarn has also proved to be one of the simplest methods known for drying yarn or other materials under most any condition.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the

scope of the inventionbeing set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for drying yarn comprising a large heated revolving drum around which yarn is adapted to pass, a comparatively small heated revolving drum around which said yarn is adapted to pass after leaving the large drum, said drums having substantially parallel axes of rotation, and having the peripheries thereof located in close proximity to each other, a hood covering a substantial portion of said smaller drum, and having a sliding fit with the ends thereof, the inner periphery of said hood being disposed substantially parallel to the periphery of the small drum for a major portion of its length and then projecting in a tangential direction near the top of the drum and terminating adjacent the large drum thereby forming an enlarged compartment between the large and small drums, the hood for the smaller drum being open at its lower end and being spaced Iromthe periphery of the smaller drum, thereby providing a slot extending across the entire width of the smaller drum to admit air to the chamber formed between the hood and the smaller drum. a duct leading from said compartment, means for providing a suction draft in said duct and between said hood and the smaller drum, and a damper in said duct for regulating the velocity of said draft.

2. Apparatus for drying yam, comprising a large heated revolving drum around which yarn is adapted to pass, a comparatively small heated revolving drum around which yarn is adapted to pass after leaving the large drum, said drums having substantially parallel axes of rotation and having the peripheries thereof located in close proximity to each other, a hood having its lower end open to admit air, said hood covering a substantial portion of said smaller drum and having a sliding fit with the ends thereof, the inner periphery of said hood being disposed substantially parallel to the periphery of the small drum for a major portion oi! its length and then projecting in a tangential direction near the top of the drum and toward the large drum thereby forming an enlarged compartment adjacent the large drum and between the large and small drums, a duct having an open end thereof extending into said compartment, a smaller duct having an open end telescopically mounted in the open end of said first-named duct and being mounted in spaced relation to the inside surface of the firstnamed duct and extending substantially farther into said compartment, means for producing a suction draft in said ducts and beneath said hood and a damper in said first duct for regulating the velocity of said draft.

GEORGE T. KING, SR. 

